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Best Super NEWS Watches
Hands-On: The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic Blasted Gold
And now for something quite a bit different. In my continued exploration of gold watches at large, it seemed a wise move to consider some options outside of the typical old-world offerings, some alternatives to the known quantities C as lovely as they often are. Within such a survey as this, if you're looking for something that manages to be both outside the usual math while still offering a very similar score, few brands have been hitting as hard as Bulgari over the past few years.? Distinctive, super slim, stylish, and intrinsically Italian, the Octo Finissimo in any guise is the Alfa to your BMW. It's romance and charm before ...
Hands-On: The IWC Pilot's Watch Automatic Spitfire
My first thought upon receiving this watch for review and double checking its price was that the IWC Pilot's Watch Automatic Spitfire is a very nice value, almost to the point that I considered shifting gears and writing this post as a Value Proposition, because I think it could certainly be covered from that angle. It makes me very happy to write that, because it takes me back to a time early in my watch journalism career, in the mid-2000s, when one of the qualities I most often associated with IWC was value for money. After all, IWC is the brand that gave the watch world its first affordable splits-second chronograph and an affordable-ish grand complication. The no-nonsense IWC tool-watch ...
Recommended Reading: Audemars Piguet 20th Century Complicated Wristwatches
There are any number of books out there which have been produced by various makers, with a view towards adding another dimension to our experience and knowledge of their watches. They vary in the degree to which they succeed. They can be lavishly beautiful, but fail to measure up when it comes to actual hard information, and what enthusiasts and serious students of horology often bemoan, is the somewhat superficial, coffee-table book approach which is sometimes taken, to a subject that merits a more in-depth approach. An in-depth?approach is exactly what you get from the team at Audemars Piguet, who produced Audemars Piguet: 20th Century Complicated Wristwatches....
The Value Proposition: The Cult Classic Casio G-Shock GA2100 1-A-1 'CasiOak'
A G-Shock knows nothing of ostentation. It doesnt care about the distinction of its wearer. It's remarkably unfussy. There's something about a G-Shock that goes against the core principles of purist watch obsessives: It works off a small circuit board, it's made from tech-forward materials, and it was born in 1983, centuries after the era when the first watchmakers started writing the history of the mechanical timepiece.? And yet, the G-Shock GA2100 1-A-1 is perhaps the single G-Shock that's most likely to convert people who dont generally embrace the line of rugged watches.. And it does that all for $99.00.? ...
Were back this week with another knockout of a roundup, complete with picks both familiar and otherwise, with unique twists. At the more conventional end of the spectrum there's a Rolex Datejust, but not any old Datejust C this one has a striking, black onyx dial. If chronographs are more your thing, there's an outstanding Jim Clark Gallet, along with an Omega pocket watch produced for a Peruvian motoring club. Should you be after something of truly epic proportions, give the Peseux 260-powered school watch a look, along with the sharpest Tudor Advisor that you ever did see. ? Technicum Du Locle School Watch ...
Business News: Grand Seiko To Open First European Boutique In Paris's Place Vend?me
Paris's Place Vend?me is a seat of global luxury and one of the most prestigious retail districts in the world. Operating a store there sends the clear message of being a global luxury brand to be taken seriously. Recently, we learned that in March of 2020, Grand Seiko will open its first European boutique in a more than 190-square-meter space covering two floors at 7 Place Vend?me. The store will present visitors with a chance to view and purchase the widest assortment of Grand Seiko watches outside of Japan, including some pieces made specifically for the new boutique.? Paris was one of the first cities outside of Japan where G...
HODINKEE Radio: Episode 75: Eric Wind And Going Deep With Jack
Subscribe to the show: (Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn). Already heard it once or twice? Please leave a short review here, and tell us which guests we should have on! I've always said that if you want to learn more than you think you want to learn about something, just go ask Jack. If there's anyone here on Team HODINKEE who knows how to really dig into something and how to ask the big and small questions at the same time, it's him. Over the last few weeks, Jack has written a number of deep-dive pieces about all manner of topics, so I wanted to bring him into the studio to talk us through them. We talk about some technical w...
Sunday Rewind: Gleaning Goodwill Greatness
On Friday, we posted a story about a man that brought an unworn 6263 Daytona to Antiques Road Show and was blown away by a valuation of $500,000 to $700,000 (rightfully so). These sorts of stories pop up from time to time, and while that Daytona is a true safe-find, sometimes valuable watches are discovered in less traditional environments, such as a grab basket of battery-dead watches at a Goodwill in Phoenix, Arizona.? Posted exactly 5 years ago today, this is the story of a man who found a very valuable watch for less than six dollars at his local Goodwill thrift shop. Can you imagine? The watch was later sold for an incredibl...
In-Depth: The Record-Setting Caliber BVL150 In The Serpenti Seduttori Tourbillon
Over the last few years, Bulgari has become, quite remarkably, not just one of the world's leading jewelry houses, but one of its leading watchmakers as well. Record after record C some of which have stood for decades C have fallen to its new introductions. Bulgari now boasts the world's thinnest tourbillon C which is also the world's thinnest automatic movement C the world's thinnest time-only automatic movement, and the world's thinnest automatic chronograph. The latest record the company has set, is also in miniaturized watchmaking: the hand-wound tourbillon movement, caliber BVL150, in the newly introduced Serpenti Seduttori Tourbillon, is the smallest tourbillon, overall, in current pro...
The Value Proposition: The Longines Heritage Classic 'Sector'
When one's job involves reviewing luxury products that are often handmade or artisanally produced, it's possible to become inured to sticker shock at times. There are plenty of watches out there that I think are worth every penny, don't get me wrong. But the prices of certain watches often mean that a great many enthusiasts are excluded from becoming customers, and that's too bad. That's why I love it when I get to cover a new watch that I can imagine lots of collectors and enthusiasts not just loving, but also being able to afford. Back in October, when Longines dropped its Heritage Classic with a sector dial, critics nearly uni...
Happenings: The Horological Society Of New York To Hold Weekend Classes In Melbourne & San Diego
The Horological Society of New York's award-winning classes are on the road again! HSNY is traveling to Melbourne, Australia, over the weekend of February 29 and March 1 with host The Hour Glass. HSNY and The Hour Glass have donated two tickets to the Melbourne courses which will be raffled at Time+Tides Watch & Act World Watch Auction Wrap Party. All proceeds from the auction will go to the Bushfire Appeal. The next weekend, March 7 and 8, HSNY heads to San Diego, California, with host Passion Fine Jewelry. At HSNY's Horological Education classes, students discover what actually makes a watch tick under the guidance of the HSNY's staff of professional watch...
Introducing: The MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual, In Yellow Gold
The Legacy Machine Perpetual Calendar from MB&F first debuted in 2015, and when we saw it in the metal for the first time, we were blown away (so much so that I am actually forced to use the phrase, "blown away"). It is not necessarily a surprise to see an MB&F watch with a tremendous amount of visual voom, but I thought the LM QP was a standout even among the exalted company of other MB&F watches. It was a technical tour-de-force, incorporating a new type of perpetual calendar that offered significant improvements over the complicated and fragile classic perpetual calendar mechanism, and which was designed by independent watchmaker Stephen McDonnell (who interestingly enough is ...
Introducing: Oris Carysfort Reef Limited Edition (Live Pics And Pricing)
Despite its home in landlocked Switzerland, Oris is well known for its diving watches and has created an impressive lineage of limited editions devoted to raising awareness, and funds, for aquatic causes, from the Rhine River, to Lake Baikal, to the Great Barrier Reef. The latest one, released this week, is the Carysfort Reef Limited Edition, based on the Oris Aquis GMT, and it might be their most impressive to date. Initial Thoughts Carysfort Reef may seem an obscure scrap of ocean floor to merit its own special wat...
The Grey NATO: Episode 99: Gold Oris And The Black Diamond Boys
Subscribe to the show: (Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Google Play). Already heard it once or twice? Please leave a short review here, and tell us what topics you'd like us to chat about.? ?Its a face-to-face high-altitude episode from the Rockies! Jason and James are sitting in the same hotel room after a day of skiing and watches with Oris in Vail, Colorado. From sustained wipeouts on the slopes to a precious new Aquis GMT, this is the third annual skiing episode from Vail and the guys have a special guest!? Peak Jason. As the latest announcement from Oris C the solid go...
As Seiko's established luxury offering, there was little likelihood that Grand Seiko would let their 60th anniversary go by without a limited edition or two (or four). Announced earlier today, Grand Seiko, which was launched in December of 1960 with the goal of creating the best possible Seiko watches, has produced four limited-edition models for their diamond anniversary.? While this is only the start of Grand Seiko's 60th birthday celebrations, the number sixty is said to signal a moment of renewed energy or rebirth in Japan. Offered with both mechanical and quartz options (with a new quartz movement, too) this quartet of LEs offer a classic but everyday take o...
Hands-On: The Longines Master Collection Moonphase
The Heritage collection from Longines has allowed a whole new generation of watch lovers?to become acquainted with a number the brand's classic designs from the middle part of the 20th century C of which, unsurprisingly, there are many. Several of these revivals have been bona fide hits: the Longines Military Watch, the Legend Diver, and the recently reviewed Heritage Classic "Sector" all come to mind.?But there is another Longines collection that references timeless watchmaking codes without making specific nods to watches from the company's archives.? Launched in 2005, the Master Collection, an example of which we are going Hands-On with today, offers a take on...
HODINKEE Radio: Episode 76: Sommelier Aldo Sohm, And Grand Seiko Designer Nobuhiro Kosugi
Subscribe to the show: (Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn). Already heard it once or twice? Please leave a short review here, and tell us which guests we should have on! Pour yourself a glass of wine (or a coffee, if you're listening first thing Monday morning) and settle in. Our main guest this week is Aldo Sohm, the award-winning sommelier at both New York City institution Le Bernardin and his eponymous Aldo Sohm Wine Bar (which is right next door to the three-Michelin-star restaurant). Aldo is a bona fide watch guy, who's gone on a similar collecting journey to most of us, exploring both the basics and more esoteric brands. ...
Introducing: The IWC Portugieser Chronograph, Now With In-House Caliber 69355
The IWC Portuguiser chronograph is one of the best loved, and least changed, designs in IWC's portfolio. Originally produced in the 1990s, the Portugieser chronographs have generally relied on supplied calibers which were retuned by IWC C first Valjoux movements, and more recently Sellita calibers. In-house chronograph calibers have been used before in Portugieser chronographs, but these have used 89000 series chronograph movements, which came in slightly larger cases, and which had the distinctive hour and minute totalizers characteristic of that family of chronographs, located at 12:00. IWC has just announced that the original classic design will now use the 69000 series of chronograph mov...
The mission of the Horological Society of New York (HSNY) is one of education. As Americas oldest watchmaking guild (and one of the oldest continuously operating horological associations in the world), HSNY strives to advance the art and science of horology, which is largely entrusted to watchmaking students. Applications for the 2020 Henry B. Fried Scholarship are now being accepted, with awards up to $10,000 to be made at HSNY's Gala and Charity Auction on April 1, 2020. The deadline to submit applications is March 1, 2020. The Horological Society of New York wants to help watchmaking students succeed in every way.– EDWIN M. HYDEMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR O...
Sunday Rewind: Balance Springs Are Special Things
Balance springs are one of those things that manages to be both very important and also generally out of mind. A key component in the function of a mechanical watch movement, balance springs come in a handful of different formats, spanning everything from the flat types you see in more common movements to specialized designs meant to promote improved performance. In this two-part series that Jack wrote in January of 2017, we get a closer look at two very cool Girard-Perregaux pocket watches, with each offering a special balance spring execution.? Be they spherical or cylindrical, these two pocket watches sport some serious spring...